n late September 2022, Arizona’s Supreme Court issued a new opinion important for any person or company working in residential construction. The Court’s opinion in Zambrano v. M & RC II LLC, et al affirms the importance of...more
In New Jersey, the “economic-loss doctrine” bars tort claims when the plaintiff’s only damages are economic in nature because, when parties enter into a contractual relationship, a contractual remedy flows from contract, not...more
The Economic Loss Doctrine and its various analogues (e.g., the Independent Duty Rule and the Gist of the Action Doctrine) vary in form and application, but each is a judge-made rule serving one principle: If a party seeks...more
The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion extending application of the economic loss doctrine to certain construction claims. Among other things, the economic loss doctrine prevents a party from recovering on...more
This article addresses recent developments in North Carolina law regarding the economic loss rule, explores the application of the economic loss rule to commercial construction projects in light of those developments, and...more
A pair of recent rulings involving the economic loss doctrine from North Carolina serve as a timely reminder to carefully consider the extent of contractual remedies in negotiation of construction agreements – lest a later...more
The Supreme Court of Utah recently found that an incorrect pre-construction geotechnical engineering report is a “defective design.” Thus, actions arising from an incorrect geotechnical report are appropriately governed by...more
Recently, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision impacting the application of the economic loss rule in commercial settings, particularly construction. This article provides a refresher on the economic loss...more
The North Carolina Supreme Court recently issued a decision in Crescent University City Venture, LLC v. Trussway Manufacturing, Inc. The case decided the question of whether a commercial developer-owner can bring a negligence...more
The Oregon Court of Appeals recently issued a decision touching on the economic loss doctrine and vicarious liability in a construction dispute. The outcome provides key lessons for manufacturing companies that may maintain...more
Sutton v. Vermont Regional Center, 2019 VT 71 (Oct. 14, 2019) - Despite its longstanding reputation as liberal and sympathetic to plaintiffs, the Vermont Supreme Court has for a very long time strictly enforced the...more
Often times, both contract and tort claims co-exist in a subrogation matter and the line between the two can be blurred. This is especially true in the context of damages resulting from new home construction defect claims....more
A recent Utah Appellate Court upheld the dismissal of a homeowners' claims against a geotechnical engineer because the homeowners did not have a contract with the geotechnical engineer and therefore their claims were barred...more
In North Carolina, the economic loss rule will not bar recovery on a negligence claim when there is no contract between the parties. In Lord v. Customized Consulting Specialty, Inc., a general contractor contracted with the...more
In its broadest sense, the "economic loss rule" prohibits recovery in tort for purely economic loss incurred under contract law. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary online defines tort as "a wrongful act other than breach of...more
In Prestress Services Industries of TN, LLC v. W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co., 280 F.Supp.3d 908 (N.D. Miss. 2017), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi faced a “rather interesting...more
McMillin Albany LLC v. Superior Court, No. S229762, 2018 Cal. LEXIS 211 (Jan. 18, 2018) - Several homeowners (“Plaintiffs”) brought suit against developer/general contractor McMillin Albany LLC (“McMillin”) for alleged...more
What tort obligations does a design professional on a construction project owe to non-parties — like, for example, the persons who will use what has been designed after it is built? Tort law involves the idea of a duty of...more
TK Servs., Inc. v. RWD Consulting, LLC, 2017 U.S. Dist. Lexis 97239 (D.D.C., June 23, 2017) - This litigation arose from a dispute between TK Services, Inc. (“TKS”), as sub-subcontractor, and RWD Consulting, LLC (“RWD”),...more
D.W. Wilburn, Inc. v. K. Norman Berry Assocs., No. 2015-CA-001254-MR, 2016 Ky. App. Lexis 206 (Ky. Ct. App. Dec. 22, 2016) - This case arose out of a construction project in which the Oldham County Board of Education...more
Elliott-Lewis Corp. v. Skanksa USA Bldg., Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59406 (E.D.Pa. May 4, 2016) - The Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that the narrow exception to the economic loss...more
Relatively few people in the commercial construction industry are kept up at night by polyisobutylene (PIB) — the synthetic rubber sealant commonly used to provide a long term and durable moisture barrier for insulated glass...more
Owners who are dissatisfied with their contractors’ performance increasingly assert fraud-based claims in addition to breach of contract claims because fraud-based claims are not typically barred by contractual waivers and...more
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. v. Rummel Klepper & Kahl, LLP, 226 Md. App. 420, 130 A.3d 1024, 2016 Md. App. LEXIS 3 ( Md. Ct. Spec. App. Jan. 28, 2016) The City of Baltimore retained a design professional, Rummel...more
A recent Pennsylvania case, Gongloff Contracting, LLC v. L. Robert Kimball & Assocs., Architects and Engineers, Inc., sheds light on circumstances in which design errors can lead to damages in tort as courts recognize...more